


Frostbite

by Tinybit92



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Miraculous Side Effects, Two Shot, alya has like two lines in the whole thing, but she's there, just some slight fluff, the romance will probably be minor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 06:38:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7607653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinybit92/pseuds/Tinybit92
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>diapause</b>
  <br/>
  <i>noun</i>
  <br/>
  <span class="small">1. a period of suspended development in an insect, other invertebrate, or mammal embryo, especially during unfavorable environmental conditions.</span>
</p>
<p>Someone probably should have warned Marinette about how insects react to the cold before she went out as Ladybug to fight an akuma in the snow.</p>
<p>Based on the idea that their powers come with some side-effects from the creatures they are based on. Ladybugs generally don't do well in winter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frostbite

**Author's Note:**

> First Miraculous Ladybug fic. Trying my best to keep it roughly within the style of the show. I haven't written the second half of this yet, but it's just gonna be a little two shot. I don't have a beta reader, so feel free to let me know if you spot anything odd and I'll make sure to fix it.

It was a gorgeous winter morning in the city of Paris. In the apartment above a small bakery a little red kwami with black spots floated near the window, staring out at the city with a nervous furrow to her brows. Her young charge bustled about in the background, getting ready for school. Normally she would be buzzing around the girl's head, reminding her of everything she needed for the day, but today she was clearly distracted.  
  
The dark-haired teenager came up behind her moments later with a small smile on her face. “It's beautiful, huh?”  
  
Tikki started slightly at the sound, not having noticed the girl's approach. “I suppose it is,” she said hesitantly.  
  
Marinette let out a wistful sigh as the two of them watched thick white flakes fall lazily from the sky. “Paris looks so amazing in the snow.”  
  
“I can see the appeal,” Tikki said slowly. “There is something almost hauntingly beautiful about it. But, unfortunately, I don't much care for colder weather.” She shivered just thinking about it, her tiny body seeming to vibrate.  
  
Marinette let out an affectionate laugh. “Aw, I'm sorry Tikki. You can hide from the cold in my purse all day if you want. I'll even grab you a fresh cookie from the bakery on the way out to keep you warm.”  
  
The kwami's eyes lit up at the suggestion, causing another small laugh from her friend. It was hard to believe she was an ancient and powerful magical being when she got so excited about sweets.  
  
“Maybe I should try to design you some winter gear,” Marinette mused as she opened her clutch for her little friend to fly into. “It might be fun to work with such a small model.”  
  
“I'm sure I would love anything you make me, Marinette.” Tikki spoke brightly, but paused for a thoughtful moment. “Although, for now, I think I'd just like the cookie.”  
  
They both laughed lightly before the teenager closed her purse and made her way out the door, keeping her promise of fresh baked goods as she did, of course. Her kwami may not like the weather, but Mariniette was excited to get the chance to bundle up in a warm scarf and admire the scenery of the snowy city on her way to school. It was always so alien and familiar all at once. The same places and people she saw every day, but with an extra layer of snow or clothing on top. She wondered idly if maybe Adrien would be wearing the scarf she'd made him for his birthday today. True, he thought it had come from his father, but just seeing him in something she'd designed made her happy. She walked toward the school with a spring in her step, ready for what she hoped would be a day as magical as the snow made everything look.  
  
–  
  
The day had turned out rather well so far. The snow continued to fall lightly all morning, distracting the students from their work. The teachers didn't seem to mind too much, seeing as it was the first snowfall of the season and there was really very little they could do about it. This made for an extremely relaxed curriculum, as none of the teachers wanted to even try covering anything important so long as the class's focus was so obviously split. It was overall a very peaceful and fun schoolday. Until lunch break, that is.  
  
Walking through the snow on her lunch break, Marinette was in the middle of a casual conversation with Alya when a very loud crashing noise erupted from a park not too far off.  
  
“That didn't sound good,” Marinette remarked after a beat of awkward silence.  
  
“Oh, I am so on this!” Alya exclaimed exuberantly as she whipped out her phone camera and ran towards the source of the chaos.  
  
“Of course.” The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes with a sigh at her best friend's recklessness before ducking into a nearby alleyway. “So much for my peaceful snow day. Tikki, spots on!”  
  
“Wait, Marinette! We have to be car–” Tikki's sentence was cut off as she was sucked into Marinette's earrings, a flash of light turning the girl into Ladybug.  
  
Almost immediately after her transformation, the young superhero shivered violently. “Oh my gosh, this costume was clearly not built for this weather.” The material was usually very comforting, but today it felt as though she were wearing nothing as far as the temperature was concerned. “Guess I'll just have to move quickly and hope my adrenaline keeps me warm.” She shot her yo-yo up towards the top of a nearby building and zipped off in the direction of the noise she had heard.  
  
Flying through the air, normally a fun and freeing activity, did not seem to be helping the problem, as the cold wind felt like glass shards whipping past her face. She grit her teeth and tried to ignore it as she spotted Hawk Moth's latest victim up ahead. She had to blink to make sure she wasn't seeing things when it came into her line of sight. It appeared to be some sort of giant snowman, which was roaring angrily as it hurled large snowballs at innocent bystanders. Her breath was visible in the cool air as she alighted on a nearby rooftop to get a better look. She could see Cat Noir making his way to the scene before her and distracting it. He skidded away as it swiped at him, and she made a point of landing right next to him as she dropped into the park herself.  
  
“Well, I guess this thing might explain why I feel so extra cold right now,” she quipped as she landed. “It must be affecting the temperature.”  
  
“What are you talking about?” Her partner asked jovially. “I feel fine.”  
  
She gave him a skeptical once over. “Pretty sure your costume is made from some kind of leather, so that doesn't really surprise me.”  
  
“Well, if you'd like, I'd be happy to share the warmth with you, my lady.” He grinned cheekily, but the two of them were forced to dodge a large, snowy hand before she could roll her eyes at him.  
  
“Whoa there, Frosty, slow it down a little,” Cat called to their opponent.  
  
The creature did not seem to appreciate his nickname. “I am Frostbite!” it roared.  
  
“Close enough.” The cocky young hero shrugged.  
  
It roared again, this time spraying a cloud of ice crystals as it did. Cat neatly dodged it, but the trees behind him hadn't been so lucky, freezing solid on contact with the substance.  
  
“Stay away from it's mouth!” Ladybug called reproachfully.  
  
“Yeah, the icicle fangs were already making me think that was a bad idea.”  
  
The young heroine scanned the ten foot tall creature's form, trying to quickly locate the source of the akuma. Her eyes stopped on a bright red scarf around its neck. “I'm guessing we need to go for the scarf,” she informed her partner, jumping up mid-sentence to dodge the arm of the beast yet again.  
  
“It does seem a little obvious, doesn't it?”  
  
Cat moved around it's front and did a couple of mocking cartwheels to gain its attention while she latched her yo-yo onto a nearby structure and tried to swing around behind it to grab the scarf. This tactic didn't quite work out though, as Frostbite noticed her just moments before she was in range and grabbed at the string of her weapon. She let out a slight squeak of surprise before she was hurled downwards across the park.  
  
Ladybug's landing was not especially graceful, and her knees felt as though they'd been burned where they collided with the snowy ground. She hissed at the pain and shook her head roughly. She should have seen that coming and corrected her course. The cold was affecting her response time.  
  
“You know,” Cat Noir mused as he offered a hand to help her up. “I was kind of hoping it would be a top hat.” He tipped an invisible hat, green eyes glinting mischievously as he quietly sang, “ _There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found._ ”  
  
She smiled as she took the offered hand. “ Unfortunately for us, he doesn't seem to be doing much dancing.” Her head suddenly seemed to spin as she was pulled upright, and she wobbled slightly in an attempt to regain her balance.  
  
“You alright there, my lady?” her partner questioned in concern.  
  
“I'll be fine, just a little dizzy.” She waved him off before reassessing the situation. “Let's try to disorient him by going for it at the same time.”  
  
“Got it.”  
  
They dashed off in opposite directions, and once they were on either side of the monster, they each dove toward the bright scrap of red cloth.  
  
The oversized snowman seemed to look panicked for only a second, before drawing his arms inward with a deep breath. The two heroes noticed the small tips of ice protruding from his body just in time to throw themselves flat against the ground before he flailed his arms back outward and icicles erupted from him like an exploding pin cushion.  
  
“Okay, bad plan,” Ladybug called across the park when she felt it was safe to lift her head again.  
  
The snowy behemoth was breathing heavily as it glared them both down. It seemed to finally focus on Ladybug, the singular splash of red among the stark white landscape, and began gathering more snow in it's hands.  
  
The dark-haired hero's eyes widened and she began running in an attempt to make herself a less vulnerable target, but her legs had started to feel heavy, and she found herself unable to move as quickly as she needed. It was almost too easy of a shot as the enormous snowball came hurtling towards her full force.  
  
It shouldn't have been that bad. It was just an especially large snowball, after all. With the extra resistance and endurance offered to her by her suit, it shouldn't have done anything more than knock her back a few feet. Instead, it felt like thousands of tiny knives were piercing her skin everywhere that the frozen substance made contact with her body. She couldn't help the slight shriek of pain that escaped her as she was throw backwards into the snow.  
  
“Ladybug!” Cat Noir called in alarm. He made to run toward her, but was blocked by Frostbite's flailing fist.  
  
The teenage hero's ears were ringing as she curled up on her side in the snow. Her whole body hurt, and her chest felt tight. Something was very wrong, she finally realized. She needed to end this quickly. She let out a groan of frustration and pain as she hauled herself upright. Her vision was strained and unfocused, but she could see that the monster's attention was currently on Cat, or at least the black smudge she assumed to be her partner. Taking as deep of a breath as her aching lungs would allow, she threw her yo-yo into the air with a shout of “Lucky Charm!”  
  
The swirling red energy formed itself into an object which fell neatly into her hands. “A hairdryer!” She breathed excitedly, grateful for such a straightforward tool when her head felt the way it did. She called for Cat Noir's attention and held up the item where he could see it.  
  
He gave a quick nod before casting his gaze around the area for a sufficient distraction, finally settling on a nearby lamppost. He ran for it, swiping his claws and shouting “Cataclysm!” The base of the post immediately rusted away and the towering object began falling towards Frostbite's head. The beast panicked and threw his arms up to catch it, providing a perfect opening for attack.  
  
Ladybug charged forward, turning on the hairdryer and running as quick as she could around the lower half of the monster's body. As the snow melted away, the upper half of his body became too much to hold up, and just as he managed to throw the lamppost away from himself, he toppled forward in a similar fashion to the now discarded post.  
  
“Cat, now!”  
  
Her partner needed no second bidding. He used his baton to pole vault himself onto the overturned snowman's back and shredded the scarf in his claws, tossing the remains of the object toward her. A dark-colored insect fluttered out of the tattered cloth, and she quickly captured it in her yo-yo. “No more evil-doing for you, little akuma.” With a quick twirl, the bug was purified, now white wings glowing against the snowy background of the park. “Bye-bye little butterfly.”  
  
With what little strength she had left in her exhausted limbs, the dark-haired heroine threw the hairdryer into the air and called out, “Miraculous Ladybug!” Swirling energy in the shape of thousands of little ladybugs swarmed the park and repaired all the damage from the fight. What was left of Frostbite melted away to reveal the previously akumatized victim. A boy, probably only a couple of years younger than the heroes themselves, sat blinking confusedly in the snow clutching his now restored scarf.  
  
Ladybug let out a sigh of relief, feeling more tired than she ever had in her life. Her breathing had started to become shallow, and her body was so heavy she felt her blood must be moving like molasses in her veins. With the sudden lack of oxygen to her limbs her legs couldn't seem to hold her up anymore, and she felt her knees give out. The last two things she heard before she blacked out were her partner's panicked shouting of her name, and the five minute warning beep from her earrings.


End file.
